Something New
by theprozacfairy
Summary: The family finds out something interesting about Carl that they somehow managed to miss before. One-shot


A/N: Yes, this is random. Also, I made Gaston a pediatric nurse. I'm a nursing student, and I think he would have the perfect combination of scientific brain, with a kind, zany personality that would make the kids love him. Is it wrong to project that onto him?

Also, there might be slight implied TxC.

Read and review, please.

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Carl was watching six-year-old Wilbur as he played Indiana Jones vs. Luke Skywalker with himself. He was so cute. "Pshaow, shwing," he said as he swung around his invisible light saber. The noise he made when it hit the whip was even funnier and cuter, but Carl could not figure out how you would type that out. Maybe, "Whhpshvvreiow," or something, but that wasn't quite it. He couldn't help but laugh, though.

Cornelius walked outside to where they played to check up on his son. He had to laugh, too. "You're getting this, right?" he asked his robot friend.

"Oh, I've been recording for last two hours. You should see Superman and the Pirate-Dinosaurs."

"I love that one! I think it's one of my favorites."

"Me, too. Except for the climbing. That always makes me so nervous. I think we should cover him in bubble wrap."

"I've got something even better, because he can't just pull it off. By next week, I should be able to plant the trampoline grass. Probably by Wednesday."

"Oh, I'm not going to be here on Wednesday. You don't really need me, do you?"

"No, that's fine. I hope you don't mind my asking," he paused to pull Wilbur off of the topiary he was climbing on, as he had gotten too high, "but where will you be?"

"It's Yom Kippur."

Cornelius was confused. What did a Jewish holiday have to do with anything? "And…?"

"Well, I'm going to be in temple most of the day."

"Wait, are you Jewish?"

"Yes," he answered as though it was obvious.

"When did this happen?"

"What do you mean? I didn't convert. I've been Jewish as far back as I can remember. Did you not know that?"

"No. I didn't." Cornelius did not recall programming him to be Jewish. Neither he nor anyone in his family was, so he wouldn't have a reason for it. There was a chance that while he was uploading all those encyclopedias, he analyzed the religion and decided to follow it before he was conscious. It was very strange, though.

"Why did you think I went to temple so much?"

Cornelius was embarrassed to admit that he, in the six and a half years that his friend was operational, did not recall him once mentioning it, or notice he was gone. "I just didn't notice, I guess." He grabbed Wilbur before he jumped off the same topiary from an unsafe height. How did he get up there so fast? He was slicing his father in the ankles with his invisible light saber a minute earlier.

"I'm gone for two hours every Saturday morning. How have you missed that?"

"I don't know," he said slowly, obviously bewildered. After a little while he looked at his watch. He had to get back to work. "I've gotta head in, now. Are you guys alright out here?"

"Sure," Carl answered while wrapping an arm around the first grader so he did not fall off while he climbed on the robot himself.

Cornelius headed in, and passed his wife on the way. He stopped, "Honey, did you know Carl is Jewish?"

"What? No. Are you sure?"

"He just told me himself. Apparently he's been going to temple for two hours every Saturday since he became operational. I never even noticed he was gone."

"Me neither. Strange." After finishing building the little bar for her frogs, as per their request (they had a union, now), she returned inside to get some chores done.

The younger of her two brothers was in the living room tinkering with a new cannon, while Billie sat on the other side of the room working on a train. Their current race was to see who finished building their machine first. "Hey, Gaston, Billie, did either of you guys know that Carl's Jewish?"

"It's news to me," Billie told her.

"I had no clue. Is he?" Gaston asked.

"He just told Cornelius. He said he's been going to temple every Saturday."

Gaston shrugged. "Interesting. I work on Saturdays sometimes, but I still would have thought I'd detect something like that." He paused, then added, "I don't think I've ever known anyone else who was Jewish."

Franny continued on to a supply closet. It was time for scrubbing! Franny actually liked scrubbing jobs, so this would be fun.

Gaston's watch beeped, indicating he had to get to work soon. He was working from 3 pm to midnight. The hours were odd, but he really enjoyed his job as a pediatric nurse.

While he made his way to the exit so he could get to the nearest bubble machine, he passed Bud and Lucille, who were dancing to music the frogs were playing.

"Hey, did you guys know Carl's Jewish?"

"No idea. Robots can be Jewish?" Bud asked.

"Why not?" Lucille asked.

Bud shrugged, "I thought you had to be born into it. Robots aren't really born, are they?"

Gaston shrugged, too, and left for work.

Later that day, Bud and Lucille were trying to keep their niece and nephew from fighting too much and driving their mother crazy. Okay, too late. They could at least keep them from driving her further down that road. Carl's name came up in passing.

"Speaking of, did you know he's Jewish?"

Laszlo shrugged, but Tallulah nodded. "Of course," she told them, "Why else would he go to temple every Saturday?"


End file.
